Although we are only midway through the school year, many Cavaliers have already started receiving their early college admissions and scholarships. One of those students is Lisbeth Arrieta, a Posse Scholar and International Baccalaureate senior.

Arrieta chose to attend Davidson College, a small liberal arts school in North Carolina, to pursue a degree in pharmacology or neuroscience. In order to be an applicant for the scholarship, Coral Gables Senior High had to nominate her, as well as two other candidates. Arrieta also had to showcase her leadership in different aspects of her life such as at school, with her community or in her family.

When Arrieta was applying to Posse, the process was a bit nerve racking, however, she maintained a positive and confident attitude. She knew nothing was really guaranteed since there are very few requisites and it is mostly based on merit and leadership skills; this did not stop her from giving it her all. She also liked how Posse was mostly spontaneous talking and interviewing, unlike other scholarships. Arrieta worked hard to maintain her academics and extracurricular activities at Gables while she was applying to Posse. Eventually, everything she did during her high school years paid off because she received the Posse Scholarship.

Her final interview took place earlier this month and lasted about three hours. About an hour later, she received a call from the trainers office asking if she could join an online meeting. There, she was greeted by the Vice President of Davidson College, Christopher J. Gruber, the admissions counselor, professors and an evaluator which asked her if there was something she forgot to mention during the interview. Moments later the admissions counselor asked how she would feel about living at Davidson.

“One of the things that stood out to me about Posse is that the interview and application is more personalized since you can put a face to who is reviewing you, unlike college applications” senior Lisbeth Arrieta said.

One of the things Arrieta is looking forward to the most is meeting the other Posse scholars that will be attending Davidson. The scholarship recipients will meet each other at an award ceremony taking place on Jan. 5. Arrieta and the nine other scholars were chosen from a pool of over 1,000 applicants who were interested in science, technology, engineering or math.

The Posse STEM Program gives Lisbeth a guaranteed Bachelors degree in any field, a mentor who she will meet with on a weekly basis, a two-week summer immersion program and internship opportunities. Most of her training will be on how to handle college level academics that are geared to undergraduates and will also explain how to get involved at Davidson.

To advise students aiming to apply for posse, Arrieta says to “ be confident and completely authentic in your responses. Also, be proud of what you have accomplished throughout your high school career. And to have fun with the interviews and always put your best foot forwards they understand what matters to you/what you care about.”